Coronavirus sent the cruise ship industry into a crisis that's still far from over.
Even before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, the U.S. began warning its citizens to stay off cruise ships to avoid catching the virus. And it turns out it had good reason for doing so: Of the 121 cruise ships that entered U.S. waters after March 1, all but 15 of them had at least one apparent coronavirus case onboard, The New York Times reports via Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
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It's been more than three months since the CDC issued a no-sail order that halted all cruises from heading out from the U.S., and almost as long since the last quarantined passengers disembarked. But as of Sunday, 21,506 crew members are still out in American waters, waiting aboard 68 ships as public health officials struggle to get them back home safely, the Times reports.
Read more about COVID-19's effects on the cruise industry — and how they plan to get back to normal — at The New York Times. Kathryn Krawczyk
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add details about the CDC's methodology.
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